Thomas Wayne famously told his future masked vigilante son and the world that the only purpose for a fall is to get back up again. But sometimes it takes longer to bounce back from a tumble than you’d like. Luckily, every small step counts. For Brian Hernandez Jr., right now, no matter how small the step, the journey back to full health is a long road ahead. But the good news couldn’t be more welcome.

Last Sunday, the celebrity jockey incurred seven broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a liver laceration thanks to a horror fall during the third race at Churchill Downs. In the maiden race for $30,000 claimers, Kenny McPeek’s Sgt. Garcia injured one of his front legs near the 5/16th pole and crashed on the turf, sending Hernandez Jr. flying. The moment left the horse racing community gasping. Unfortunately, the horse ultimately didn’t make it through, but thankfully, the Kentucky Derby-winning jockey is already en route to a full recovery.

On Tuesday, Brian Hernandez Jr. took to X to update his fans about his health condition via a post on X. “I had a successful surgery today to stabilize my ribs. I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers!” he noted his gratefulness for having everyone standing by him during the troubled times. In the accompanying image, the 39-year-old could be seen sitting on his hospital bed, sporting a cap inscribed with Thorpedo Anna, his Kentucky Oaks-winning horse’s name.

Following the crash at the iconic racecourse, Hernandez Jr. was rushed to the University of Louisville Hospital, where the doctors immediately got to work. His liver laceration was treated with a minor surgery on Sunday, with a more complicated procedure being scheduled for the next day. Now that the word has come forward that the second surgery also went well, the jockey had to thank those who are providing him with the medical care he needed. “The doctors and nurses here at UofL have been absolutely fantastic. Hopefully one step closer to going home,” he wrote in the social media post.

But Brian, being the spirited fighter he is, wasn’t nervous about going under the knife for the second time in two days. Instead, to keep up morale, he kept joking around from his hospital bed. Why so unserious, you could say. Well, perhaps because Hernandez Jr. is well aware that the business he’s in comes with such burdens. “Any time you’re dealing with a profession where an ambulance follows you around the track proves the point that it’s a pretty dangerous job,” he pointed out the high risk-high reward nature of horse racing a day before.

Moreover, he had also made it clear on Monday that getting back into the thick of things was his sole objective. “At one point you’re saying I don’t ever want to ever do this again. The next second, you’re thinking ‘When can I come back? I have all these good horses to ride.’ You start preparing to get back out there and you try to miss as few days as possible,” Hernandez Jr. had confessed to the Thoroughbred Daily News. It looks like he’s on the right path.

But what now? When can the Lafayette, Louisiana, native get back in the saddle?

What’s next for Brian Hernandez Jr.?

Despite Hernandez Jr.’s eagerness to get back to racing, he will have to hold his horses, so to speak. After the initial assessment, the doctors had cautioned him that he would need to keep away from the racetrack for at least six to eight weeks. While an update on the matter is yet to be received, it shouldn’t be suspected that the timeline is likely to be reduced significantly. But what does that entail for his racing future?

Riding on the back of Mystik Dan, Brian finished the $1 million Arlington Stakes (Grade 1) in fourth place in August. Not the kind of result you’d expect from a Derby winner. McPeek was also disappointed, but sounded hopeful about a redemption waiting for him and his colleagues at November’s Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. But things, as they stand now, don’t look all that hopeful, and Hernandez Jr. will most probably be replaced by his brother, Colby Hernandez, for the upcoming race.

Are you also among those who can’t wait to see Brian Hernandez Jr. back in his natural element? But you’d also like him to exercise some self-control, given the current situation? We hear you!